On the third day of Parliament, first-time Member of Parliament (MP) Poh Li San urged the government to invest resources in the youths of Singapore, and suggested rejigging the current employment structure to develop a less top-heavy workforce.
The Sembawang GRC MP also called for greater diversity in leadership, encouraging women to take the helm at work, as well as for businesses to provide a conducive work environment for them.
Need to invest in youths, reliance on foreign talents must not cripple Singapore's organic capabilities
Describing the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects as a marathon, Poh emphasised the need for long-term solutions to respond to the challenges the country faces.
She pointed out the need to invest resources in youths, and the need for young people to "feel a strong sense of ownership" towards Singapore and their role in shaping the country's future.
Poh mentioned that fundamental problems, such as shortage of manpower, need to be solved by investing and building deep capabilities.
This can be done by developing technologies and customising solutions to reduce Singapore's reliance on foreign workers in sectors such as construction, hospitality and nursing.
To do so, she added that Singapore needs to create more conducive environments "to spawn creativity and innovation", urging educational institutions to provide more opportunities for interdisciplinary training for students.
While she mentioned that foreign talents "deepen and diversify (Singapore's) economy", she reminded that they should not cripple Singapore's organic capabilities.
Rejigging employment structure, consider 70 a new retirement age
Explaining the need to develop a less top-heavy workforce, Poh said in her maiden speech that Singapore could "rejig" its employment structure.
"Consider 70 to be a new retirement age. In 45 to 50 years of [a] career lifespan, we should take time to build a strong foundation to be good in developing a craft or a career grow and develop our practical skill sets and experience, before moving into managerial or management roles."
She elaborated that this could help prevent Singapore's workforce from becoming "too top-heavy, resulting in Singapore becoming expensive and uncompetitive."
Encouraging leadership in women
Poh also highlighted the benefits of women in leadership roles in the workforce, citing examples of international women leaders who have handled the Covid-19 crisis well, such as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, and Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
"Women provide diversity, and a different style of leadership, at all levels and across diverse fields. While men work hard to be strong and aggressive, women are naturally nurturing and resilient," she said.
"These are qualities that are crucial when surviving a crisis or rebuilding the economy and society."
She added that a number of Singaporean women who have given up their careers for their young families and children, despite having the skills, experience and qualities highly sought after by employers.
Urging employers to open up the opportunity for them to return to to the workforce, she pointed out the need for employers to create a conducive and more flexible environment for working mothers.
Mentioning the current work-from-home arrangements adopted by many companies due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she said:
"Ironically, Covid-19 has made flexible work arrangements workable and acceptable. Work from home, e-commerce and home-based businesses have now become the norm. We should make these structural shifts in the workplace permanent."
She also suggested for the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to review potentially unfair or discriminatory HR practices by employers, such as reducing the gender wage gap.
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